“People with goals succeed because they know where they are going… It’s as simple as that.”    - Earl Nightingale

 If you aren’t sure where to focus or how to get started with your goals - I am going all out this week recommending one simple, wonderful and wonderfully simple book.  By friend Phil Gerbyshak  “10 Ways to Make it Great”  Learn more about Phil and his book at one of his websites.  http://makeitgreat.typepad.com/makeitgreat/

10 Ways to Make It Great! is packed full of ways you can take control of your life, stop having a nice day, and make it great. At the end of each chapter is one or more action steps you can take, TODAY, to Make It Great!   Get a copy for each member of your team….at http://morebetterbooks.com/

Look what just one reader had to say about Phil’s book -

Phil Gerbyshak’s “10 Ways to Make It Great” is an excellent addition to anybody’s business library. He’s taken the best of human nature and condensed it into an easy-to-use handbook of knowledge, anecdotes, and thought-provoking exercises which can be digested over an airplane ride or over months of self-assessment, whichever the reader chooses. Gerbyshak’s humble approach to life partnered with his energized quest to make things constantly better pours over into his writing. The reader cannot help but come away with a great sense of self and a renewed purpose for what to do next. This book is the cross-section of Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Warren’s Purpose-Driven Life, condensed to fit into today’s schedules, yet powerful enough to pack the punch of a message that people still need to hear. Well Done!!! ~ T.L. Johnson

Our T4D friend Daniel from way down under sent me this brilliant bit on goals… that totally supports Brian Tracy’s claim about the power of “writing things down.”

Brian Tracy says that he has found that even people who write their goals and lose them or never look at them again…. have greater achievement at the end of the year than those who never wrote them at all. I can attest that he is right! There is something magical about goal setting and clarifying your thinking and deciding what you want and putting it down on paper.

Kirk,
You shared a few weeks back about taking some time with the New Year upon us and looking at some goals with the family. Well recently Danielle and I have done the same. It started when we were on a long drive to the beach/coast for our holiday and the usual ‘what shall we do/talk about now’ was kicking in on the long drive. I pulled out a notebook and said, ok what are we going to do in the next year or so. It was good fun not only to plan some things but to find out what each of us thought was important.

This has also lead to us sitting down and making lists of the things we have to do around the house on a whiteboard that sits on the fridge and also refining and getting serious about our budget. The most amazing part about any of it is that even before you have made the first steps to achieving any of it, you actually feel like you have taken some steps. I feel an energy there and greater connection with the family and most importantly Danielle. It’s great. Of course now we have to make sure we do take steps and move forward else we fall by the wayside and fulfil this little gem:  “Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.” - Joel Barker
The best part about that though and something we witnessed ourselves last year is the power of writing something down. We had made lists like I mentioned above and had kind of kept track of them but not religiously. I had looked at the list we had made on the whiteboard towards the end of last year and realised we had completed every single task, some of them without even really realising, powerful stuff - writing things down. Looking forward to ‘06.
Oh, one last thing to add to my ramblings, I was looking for a quote I loved and struck upon another (funny how that happens) that I had to share. It reminded me of the quote you sent the other day about problems:
We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds. Aristotle Onassis

Cheers Kirk,
Daniel.

 I’m finding alot of people who still haven’t set their goals or put together even a basic plan for improving their approach to the year ahead.  If you need a little help I might suggest a wonderful little book by Phil Gerbyshak called “10 Ways to Make It Great” - Each wonderfully concise chapter ends with some questions - or should I say some invitations to ACT.  I think it’s a great way to build a plan…. you can get a copy of the of the book at http://www.morebetterbooks.com/

10 Ways to Make It Great! is packed full of ways you can take control of your life, stop having a nice day, and make it great. At the end of each chapter is one or more action steps you can take, TODAY, to Make It Great!

Look what just one reader had to say about Phil’s GREAT book -

Phil Gerbyshak’s “10 Ways to Make It Great” is an excellent addition to anybody’s business library. He’s taken the best of human nature and condensed it into an easy-to-use handbook of knowledge, anecdotes, and thought-provoking exercises which can be digested over an airplane ride or over months of self-assessment, whichever the reader chooses. Gerbyshak’s humble approach to life partnered with his energized quest to make things constantly better pours over into his writing. The reader cannot help but come away with a great sense of self and a renewed purpose for what to do next. This book is the cross-section of Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Warren’s Purpose-Driven Life, condensed to fit into today’s schedules, yet powerful enough to pack the punch of a message that people still need to hear. Well Done!!! ~ T.L. Johnson

Again - I think it’s a great way to build a plan…. you can get a copy of the of the book at http://www.morebetterbooks.com/

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” - Henry David Thoreau

“To be nobody but myself, in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.” - E.E. Cummings

“The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.”

-Arnold J. Toynbee

For a bit of fun enjoy these true takes on people we share the planet with.

Will the Real Dummy Please Stand Up?!
AT&T fired President John Walter after nine months, saying he lacked “intellectual leadership”. He received a $26 million severance package. Perhaps it’s not Walter who’s lacking intelligence.

With a Little Help from Our Friends!
Police in Oakland, California spent two hours attempting to subdue a gunman who had barricaded himself inside his home. After firing ten tear gas canisters, officers discovered that the man was standing beside them, shouting pleas to come out and give himself up.

What Was Plan B?
An Illinois man pretending to have a gun kidnapped a motorist and forced him to drive to two different automated teller machines. The kidnapper then proceeded to withdraw money from his own bank accounts.

These Nitwits Are Teaching Our Children?
A 9-year-old boy in Manassas, Virginia received a one-day suspension under his elementary school’s drug policy last week - for Certs! Joey Hoeffer allegedly told a classmate that the mints would make him “jump higher.”
AND
A student in Belle, West Virginia was suspended for three days for giving a classmate a cough drop. School principal Forest Mann reiterated the school’s “zero-tolerance” policy…not to be confused with the “zero-intelligence” policy.

Some Days, It Just Doesn’t Pay to Gnaw Through the Straps
Fire investigators on Maui have determined the cause of a blaze that destroyed a $127,000 home last month - a short in the homeowner’s newly installed fire prevention alarm system. “This is even worse than last year,” said the distraught homeowner, “when someone broke in and stole my new security system…”

For the Main Course
A man in Taormina, Italy was hospitalized after swallowing 46 teaspoons, 2 cigarette lighters, and a pair of salad tongs.

The Getaway
The man walked in to a Topeka, Kansas Kwik Shop, and asked for all the money in the cash drawer. Apparently, the take was too small, so he tied up the store clerk and worked the counter himself for three hours until police showed up and grabbed him.
Have I Got a Deal for You!
More than 600 people in Italy wanted to ride in a spaceship badly enough to pay $10,000 apiece for the first tourist flight to Mars. According to the Italian police, the would-be space travelers were told to spend their “next vacation on Mars, amid the splendors of ruined temples and painted deserts. Ride a Martian camel from oasis to oasis and enjoy the incredible Martian sunsets. Explore mysterious canals and marvel at the views. Trips to the moon also available.” Authorities believe that the con men running this scam made off with over six million dollars.

Too Well-Educated
In Medford, Oregon, a 27-year-old jobless man with an MBA blamed his college degree for his murder of three people. “There are too many business grads out there,” he said. “If I had chosen another field, all this may not have happened.”

Did I Say That?
Police in Los Angeles had good luck with a robbery suspect who just couldn’t control himself during a lineup. When detectives asked each man in the lineup to repeat the words, “Give me all your money or I’ll shoot,” the man shouted, “That’s not what I said!”

Ouch, That Smarts!
A bank robber in Virginia Beach got a nasty surprise when a dye pack designed to mark stolen money exploded in his Fruit-of-the-Looms. The robber apparently stuffed the loot down the front of his pants as he was running out the door. “He was seen hopping and jumping around,” said police spokesman Mike Carey, “with an explosion taking place inside his pants.” Police have the man’s charred trousers in custody.

Are We Not Communicating? A man spoke frantically into the phone, “My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart!” “Is this her first child?” the doctor asked. “No, you idiot!” the man shouted. “This is her husband!”

Not the Sharpest Knife in the Drawer!
In Modesto, CA, Steven Richard King was arrested for trying to hold up a Bank of America branch without a weapon. King used a thumb and a finger to simulate a gun, but unfortunately, he failed to keep his hand in his pocket.

*About the Author: John Rosemond has written nine best-selling parenting books and is one of America’s busiest and most popular speakers, known for his sound advice, humor and easy, relaxed, engaging style. In the past few years, John has appeared on numerous national television programs including 20/20, Good Morning America, The View, Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect, Public Eye, The Today Show, CNN, and CBS Later Today.

Years ago when I finally began to really accept and commit myself to what I felt was one of my greatest passions,… that of being a speaker or teacher, I realized that to be a just a good teacher would require that I become a great student. Then if I would seek to truly become a great teacher it would require so much more. Since the day I truly committed myself to be “forever the student”… the world has opened up to me, or should I say, “my eyes have opened up to see things the world was willing to teach me in the most amazing manner.” I have come to know for myself, that the old saying, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” ….is more than a bit of wisdom. It is a fact, perhaps even a divine truth…and it is a promise.

Here are a couple fun quotes about learning and teaching.  Enjoy…Kirk

Who is too old to learn is too old to teach - Proverb.

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. — William Arthur Ward

A Recommended Read!! == Man’s Search for Meaning
Victor Frankl, a psychologists by training and then was imprisoned in the Jewish death camps where he was in a position to witness behaviors of people in the most extreme circumstances. In this wonderful book he recounts numerous stories from the camps of how hope for the future kept him and his comrades alive. Frankl describes how the prisoners were able to create dreams and plans for the future in order to stay sane and keep their will to live in an environment where it was very easy to give up. What I got out of his recounting of the horrors of the death camps was that even though the Nazi’s took away almost all of the basic human necessities we are used to in life, and brutalized their prisoners, they weren’t able to control the minds of those imprisoned.

Scoopers In the News!!
Just a note to say thank you for the quick delivery. I got the book just in time for our meeting. I read the book to a group of 6-7 year old boys. They absolutely loved the story. It is the first time I’ve seen them sitting still in a circle so quietly…even the parents loved it! They all want to get the book and read it to their staff. It was a hit!
Once again, thanks so very much for sharing your story with us.

A TX scooper… Stephen Stoddard told me he was going to use The Dog Poop book to introduce lean manufacturing and 6 Sigma concepts to his supervisory staff. I asked him how it went…here is his reply.
“It went well. Your message parallels the Lean manufacturing theory of eliminating waste (poop). I related the dog and his owner to the waste that we don’t know where it came from or why it is there but that person/process or our customer has moved on, but we keep the waste. I related the kids arriving to play with showing up to work. Some of the waste is obvious almost glaring to some employees. For what ever reason, time, effort, management difficulties we let the waste remain. I really like the illustration of avoiding the pile. I associate the second coach/group and ref to supervisors and upper management. When an employee brings an issue or a solution to their manager or supervisors attention but they lack the initiative to investigate or even follow up. As in your book they may go out of their way to avoid the waste. They may implement policies to protect us from the waste or change processes to work around the waste. I had my group relate to the Father. Listen to the pointers and realize that they can empower their employees (pointers) to remove the waste or resolve the issue. Remove the waste and move on. As the employees see their supervisors example they will in turn take the initiative. It will help the cream rise to the top.
~I will be using a refined version as a presentation to our employees at the department level. Thanks for the great tool.” ~Stephen Stoddard, Lean Six Sigma Project Manager

New York Times Best Smeller
A wonderfully illustrated true story to help inspire greater ownership, more initiative and more scooping on your work team or your home team!! Order your copy today from http://www.morebetterbooks.com/home.php

Consider Kirk for your next EVENT!
Keynotes on Inspirational Leadership, Customer Service, Creating Positive
Culture and Community, ENGAGEMENT, and MORE

This was sent to me by one of you…..I thank you for it. -Kirk

I believe- that we don’t have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe- that no matter how good a friend is, they’re going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe- that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I believe- that it’s taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe- that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe- that you can keep going long after you can’t.

I believe- that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe- that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe- that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.

I believe- that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe- that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe- that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I believe- that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe- that sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

I believe- that just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have.

I believe- that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.

I believe- that it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe- that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn’t stop for your grief.

I believe- that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe- that just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other And just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do.

I believe- that you shouldn’t be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I believe- that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally . different.

I believe- that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don’t even know you.

I believe- that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you you will find the strength to help.

I believe- that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe- that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

I believe it’s important to keep believing :)  Kirk

I occasionally get a fun & wonderful story or motivation piece from a gentleman by the name of Mike Litman.  I’ve included one he sent me in today’s T4D about McDonalds…and a guy by the name of Ray Kroc.  I think the story is as Golden as the Arches were to me as a kid….ENJOY  !!

Dear Kirk,

There’s so much you and I can learn from reading biographies and I’m about to share with you a success insight in a moment that you’re going to enjoy.

I love reading, especially biographies, I devour them.

In the last 2 weeks, I’ve re-read 2 great books about Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds. Ray Kroc was an incredible entrepreneur and his entrepreneurial story is one we all can learn from.

At 51 years of age, Kroc wasn’t making much money, but he wasn’t letting go of his dreams. Kroc had ambitions, dreams, and while others were thinking of retirement, Kroc was thinking of making it big.

It would take us to long to go into Kroc’s failures, challenges, but a quote I read from him says VOLUMES about becoming successful as an entrepreneur.

“When I met the McDonalds brothers, I was ready for the opportunity. By then, I had enough experience in the food and beverage business that I could tell a real idea from a counterfeit.”

I want you to look at the line - ‘I was ready for the opportunity”. So much in life is about being ‘ready for an opportunity”.

For 25 years Kroc had some success, many failures in the food service business, but he loved it and kept persevering.

Kroc was well known for going the extra mile for his clients and trying to help them add revenue to their business by using his milkshake maker and other products.

So in 1954, when Ray Kroc saw what the McDonald brothers were doing, his eyes lit up. The tough times, the failures, the years of struggle all started to pay off in that moment.

Remember Ray Kroc didn’t ‘invent’ McDonalds, but when he saw what they were doing he instantly saw a VISION in his mind of what the potential was.

Ray Kroc saw thousands of McDonalds around the world.

What’s so important to realize is that Ray Kroc could not have built McDonalds without the prior years of struggle.

The years of paying the price. We always go through periods of insignificance before we become ’significant’.

Too few are willing to pay that price.

Listen.

You must find something you love to do and start. Work for fr.ee.

Ray Kroc knew that whatever age he was, he wasn’t giving up on his dreams.

He knew that if he was ‘ready for an opportunity’ that there was a good chance it would show up.

There are opportunities everywhere, but if we can’t SEE THEM, if our mindset isn’t ready for them, then the opportunities are invisible.

Like Ray Kroc, put yourself in a position to win.

It’s not always going to be easy, but it’s going to be worth it.

Mike Litman

Make it a great day, it’s your choice!

The story is told of two monks walking through the countryside. As they pass through a village, they see a woman in a beautiful kimono crossing a muddy street. The first monk quickly picks her up and carries her across the mud. They continue walking, and five hours later the second monk can’t resist and asks, “Why did you pick up that woman when we are not supposed to do things like that?” The first monk responds, “I put her down five hours ago. Why are you still carrying her?”

How much are you limiting yourself with baggage from the past? Release your past mistakes, take responsibility, and create value in the now.

Suggested reading: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle

Travel with less baggage and your not only travel lighter and arrive sooner…but you most likely will show up with more friends as well.  ~ Kirk Weisler

A mother should give her children a superabundance of enthusiasm, that after they have lost all they are sure to lose in mixing with the world, enough may still remain to prompt and support them through great actions.  — Julius C. Hare (1795-1855) English Cleric

I love what enthusiasm is - where it comes from - and what it can do.  Most of all I love it’s contagious and infectious nature.  I personaly hope everybody catches it at least once.  ~ Kirk Weisler